Coil starting operations, the initial bending of a leading end of wire about a coiling arbor by lateral movement of a coiling tool, have been accomplished manually and prior art spring coiling machines have also included automatic coil starting devices in the form of electric motors mounted on a diameter slide and moving a small coil slide laterally as required. Coil starter devices available in the past have not, however, been wholly satisfactory. The diameter slide which moves along a line of movement approximately corresponding to the line of wire feed movement but on a side of the coiling arbor opposite the feed rolls must be highly accurate in its operation. With a coil starter motor mounted thereon and with relatively short high speed movements of the diameter slide required in high speed operation, a considerable inertia problem results. That is, the weight of the motor combined with the weight of the slide may result in slight inaccuracies in diameter slide operation. Defective springs are of course the result of such inaccuracies.
The foregoing problem is most serious in a high speed spring coiling machine of the type disclosed in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 082,670, Erman V. Cavagnero and Nicholas J. Marracino, Spring Coiling Machine With Improved Feed Roll Drive Means filed Oct. 9, 1979, now abandoned. Accordingly, the improved coil starter means of the present invention is particularly well suited to such a high speed coiler but is also of general utility with other spring coiling machines.
It is the general object of the present invention to provide a spring coiling machine having an improved coil starter device which exhibits a high degree of accuracy and dependability in use particularly in high speed operation and which yet minimizes inertia problems associated with diameter slide movement.